Refrigerating apparatus



April 11,'1939- I D. H. REEvEs 2,154,356

` y l REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed March 50, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet l N PQQ Q N INVENTOR. .Pwvun lf. Pfevs,

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Patented Apr. 1l, 1939 i PATENT OFFICE 2,154,356 nEFRIGEnATmG APPARATUSDonald H. Reeves, Dayton, Ohio, assignor tol vGeneral MotorsCorporation, Dayton, Ohio, a v corporation of Delaware Application March30, 1937, Serial No. 133,846H- 12 Claims.

l'his invention relates to. ice trays and grid structures thereforemployed in mechanically rey frigerated household refrigerator cabinets.

An object of my invention is to provide an ice tray with an improvedremovable metallic grid structure' from which ice blocks can be removedwithout applying artificial heat thereto.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved grid structurefor an ice tray of lo the type which comprises two-sections movablerelative to one another for effecting release of ice blocks from thestructure,

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved gridstructure'for an ice tray comprising two relatively movable sectionseach including a. portion disposed one above the other in substantiallythe same vertical plane and being corrugated to provide irregularsurfaces which act against 4the ice during movement of 90 the sectionsrelative to one another for breaking the bond between the ice and wallsof the grid structure.

Still further and more specificv objects and adi vantages reside indetails of construction of my g5 improved grid structure and in lnovelcombina.-

tions and arrangements of parts thereof as will more fully appear inthel course of the following description: Y

In the drawings:

, Fig. 1 is a top plan view of anice tray having a grid positionedtherein and constructed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the device shown in Fig. l and is taken on theline 2--2 thereof Fig.v 3 is 'a View similar to Fig'. 2l showing thegrid together with ice blocks bonded thereto elevated relative to thetray;

I Fig. 4 is a view of the grid and ice blocks removed from the tray withthe ice blocks at one v end of the structure removed therefrom to moreclearly illustrate the movement of the two grid sections relative to oneanother;

Fig, 5 'is a sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Fig. 3 showingportions of the two-part -grid structure in cooperative association toform a partition;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4 showing thecooperating portions of the grid movedy relative to one another; and

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 'I-JI- in Fig. 2 showingthe association of the cooperating portions of the two-part gridstructure with the transverse members thereof.

Referring to the drawings, for the purpose of l illustrating theinvention. I have disclosed in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 5a metal ice tray I0having side walls II (see Fig. 5), a bottom wall I2 and opposed endwalls I3 and I4. 'I'he tray side walls II andthe end walls I3 and I4thereof converge upwardly toward the top of the tray. The up- 5 rightwalls Il I3 and I4 of tray I0 have their upper edge rolled over to forma rim I5 which extends lcontinuously aroundthe top of the tray. Aportion of the metal tray I0 is extended downwardly from rim I5, as atI6, yat the front end m vI3 thereof and provides a. mounting for a heavymetal piece I1 which has a handle I8 pivotally secured thereto. 'Ihehandle .I8 facilitates placing tray Il) in or on a cooling element of arefrigerating system and a cam surface I9 formed thereon functions, uponactuating handle I8, to break an ice bond between the tray and itssupport to permit removal of the tray and its frozen contents from the.cooling element Aas is wellknown in the art. 20 A metallic gridstructure is removably disposed within tray I0 and divides the interiorthereof into a plurality of open-top molds, cells or compartments 2I.The grid structure comprises two sections 22 and 23 which are movablerelative to'one another. The grid section 22 includes a '25 longitudinalportion or member having a lever 2l pivotally secured as by pin 25 toeach end thereof. The grid section 23 includes a longitudinal portion ormember cut out as'at 2B for the reception of the longitudinal portion ofsection 22 and providing upwardly directed ends 21. The longitudinalportions or members o f the sections 22 and 23 are disposed one abovethe other in substantially the same vertical plane (see Figs. 35 5, 6and '1) Within tray I0. Thelongitudinal portions of sections 22 and 23are each provided with longitudinally extending corrugations 22a and 23afor a purpose to be hereafter described. By disposing the longitudinalportions or members of sections 22 and 23 one above the other insubstantially the same vertical `plane they form complementary parts ofa longitudinally extending dividing member or partition of singlethickness which two-part partition is common to a 45 plurality of theice block compartments 2I. 'I'he corrugations 22a and 23a formobstructions along the sides of the complementary parts of the dividingmember or partition and provide the partition with irregular wallsurfaces which have a 50 function that will become apparent in thedescription of the operationof the device. 'I'he longitudinal portion ofupper section 22 of the grid structure has a plurality of spaced apartslots 3i provided thereinisee Fig. 7) for re` u vto Fig. 3 of thedrawings.

ceivlng a web portion 32 of a plurality of members 33 which extendtransversely to the longi tudinal portions of the grid sections 22 and23 and contribute to the formation of the compartments 2l adapted tohave'the ice blocks 2Ia frozen therein. The transverse members 33 eachhave a slot 34 cut therein (see Fig. '7) and located beneath thewebportion 32,-thereof. The side walls of the upper part of .slot 34 inmembers 33 are adapted to firmly engage and be rigidly secured to theweb portion 35 of the longitudinal member or section 22 located belowthe slot 3| therein. The side walls of the lower part of slot 34 inmembers 33'are spaced a little farther apart than the side walls at thetop of the slot to permit the transverse members 33 to loosely t overthe lower section 23 of the grid.- structure. The transverse members 33are thereby carried by the upper grid section 22 andA straddle the lowergrid section 23 to permit the bottoms thereof to extend in the samehorizontal plane with the bottom of member 23. It will be noted byreferring to Fig. 2 of the drawings that the upper end of the upwardlydirected portions 21 on grid member or section 23 is normally disposedbelow the top or rim I3 of tray I0 when the grid structure is in itsnormal position within the tray. Levers 24 each have a long handleportion 38 normally spaced by integral lugs 39 from the top surface ofthe grid structure. Levers 24 also include a short end portion 4l thepurpose of which will become apparent in the description of theoperation of the device. By virtue of pivotally mounting levers 24 tothe grid structure by pins 25 they have but a single direction ofrotation for performing two functions as will be fully explainedhereinafter,

Assume that water has been frozen in the 'tray l0 in the form of theblocks of ice 2|a.. in compartments 2 i by the refrigerating effectproduced by a cooling element of a refrigerating system, and the trayhandle 38 has been manipulated to release the tray from the element andit is now desirable to remove the ice blocks from the grid structure.The handles 38 of levers 24 are therefore preferably simultaneouslyelevated to pivot the levers about pins 25 and to cause the short ends4I' thereof to engage the rim I5 of tray lll Aand exert force againstthe tray. This force applied to tray l0 causes the grid structure in-Vcluding the longitudinal portions or members 22 and 23 and transversemembers 33 together with the ice blocks 2Ia, adhering to these membersto be elevated relative to the tray. This force applied yto the traybreaks the bonds between the ice and the tray and causes the entire gridstructure and the ice blocks to be removed as a unit from the trayas canbest be seen by referring The grid structure with the ice adheringthereto is then moved away lfrom tray I0 preferably into a position overacontainer adapted to receive the ice blocks 2Ia. The levers 24 are thenfurther rotated in their single direction of motion aboutl pins 25 tocause the short ends 4| thereof to engage the top s of the upwardlyextending portions 2.1 of members 23. Force applied by levers 24attached to members 22 causes a vertical movement of the grid sections22 and 23 relative to one another (see Fig. 4). This relative movementof sections 22 and 23 away from one another causes the convex andconcave portions ofthe longitudinal corrugations or obstructions 22a and23a to act as cam means against the ice blocks 2|a and this cammingaction moves the ice blocks relative to Walls of the grid structure. Byreferring to Fig. 6 of the drawings it will be noted that the convexportion of the corrugation 22a. in member 22 cooperates with'the convexportion of the corrugation 23ain member 23 during separation of thesemembers to force the ice blocks 2Ia lengthwise of the transverse members33 and outwardly away from the two-part partition. between all the gridwalls and the blocks of ice is broken in this manner and the ice blocks2Ia. can now be readily removed from the grid structure.

While I have disclosed the longitudinal members of the grid sections 22and 23 as being entirely separable from one another it may be desirableto secure these sections together and permit only sufficient movementtherebetween to effect the ice block releasing action. It is also to beunderstood that while I have corrugated the longitudinal members of themovable sections 22 and 23 of the grid structure to provide thepartition with irregular Wall surfaces it is Well within the realm of myinvention to provide other forms of obstructions on the members toprovide suitable irregular wall surfaces on the dividing members formingthe partition to effect the camming action desired.

From the foregoing it vwill be seen that I have provided an improvedcombination and particularly a novel ice tray grid structure which is ofsimple construction, low manufacturing cost, strong and durable, capableof being operated with a minimum'of force to effectively break the bondbetween ice blocks and the grid walls. My improved structure therebyeliminates the necessity of running water over the grid structure or ofapplying other artificial heat thereto to release ice blocks therefrom.The improved structure is constructed entirely of metal to therebyretain the fast freezing characteristics of metal tray and gridcombinations. In my improved grid structure the levers have a singledirection of rotation for elevating the structure together with iceblocks adhering thereto relative to the tray and for breaking a bondbetween the ice blocks and the grid after the ice and grid structure hasbeen removedy from the tray.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed,constitutes a preferred form,

it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all comingwithin the scopeof the claims V.which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A grid for ice trays comprising a plurality of sections, saidsections of said grid each having a portion extending parallel to oneanother and being disposed one above the other in substantially the samevertical plane and forming complementary parts of a dividing member,each portion ofV said sections of said grid having a corrugation thereinproviding said dividing member with an irregular wall surface, saidsections of said grid being relatively movable, and the corrugation inone of said portions of said sections cooperating with the corrugationinthe other portion of said sections to move ice away. from the wallsurface of said dividing member upon moving said grid sections relativeto one another. i

2. A grid for ice trays comprising relatively movable sections, saidsections of said grid each having a relatively long portion extendingparallel to one another and being disposed one above the other insubstantially the same vertical plane and forming complementary parts ofa longi- .The bond tudinal dividing member, said lgrid also havingtransverse portions carried by one'of said long portions thereof andprojecting over the other long portion of the grid and cooperatingtherewith to vpartition the interior of the tray, each long portion ofsaid sections of said grid having a corrugation therein providing saidlongitudinal dividing member with irregular wall surfaces, and thecorrugation in one of said long portions of said sections cooperatingwith the corrugation in theother long portion of said sections to moveice lengthwise along the transverse portions of the grid and away fromthe wall surface of said dividing member upon moving said grid sectionsrelative to one another.

3. In combination, a tray having a grid structure removably disposedtherein and dividing the v interior thereof into a plurality of iceblock compartments, said grid structure 'comprising relatively movablesections, said sections of said grid each having a member extendingparallel to one another and being disposed one above the other insubstantially the same vertical plane and forming f complementary partsof a partition between certain of said compartments, each member of saidsections having avcorrugation therein providing said partition with anirregular wall surface, means for elevating said sections of said gridstructure `together with ice blocks adhering thereto relative to thetray as a unit, means for applying force between said sections after thegrid structure and ice adhering thereto has been elevated relative tothetray to move the members of said partition relative to one another, andthe corrugation in one of said members cooperating with the corrugationin the other of said members to move the ice block adjacent said membersaway from said partition upon movement of the members relative to oneanother.

4. In combination, a tray having a grid structure removably disposedtherein and dividing the interior thereof into a plurality of ice blockcompertinents, said grid structure comprising relatively movablesections, said sections of said grid each having a member extendingparallel to one another and being disposed one above the other insubstantially the same vertical plane and forming complementary parts ofa partition between certain of said compartments, each member of saidsections having a corrugation therein providing said partition with anirregular wall surface, a lever carried by one of said grid sections andadapted to engage the tray for elevating said sectionsv of said gridstructure together with ice blocks adhering thereto relative to the trayas a unit, and said. lever being constructed and arranged to apply forcebetween said sections after the grid structure and ice adhering theretohas beenelevated relative to the tray to move the members of saidpartition away from one another, the corrugation in one of said memberscooperating with the corrugation in the other of said members to movethe ice block adjacent said members away from said partitionupon-movement of the members relative to one another.

5. In combination, al tray having a grid structure removablyvdisposedtherein and dividing the interior thereof into a plurality of ice blockcompartments, said grid structure comprising relatively movablesections, said sections of said grid each having a member extendingparallel to one another and being disposed one above the other in-.sections having a corrugation therein providing said partition withanfirregular wall surface, a lever carried by one of said grid sectionsand having a single direction of rotation for engaging the tray andelevating said sections of the grid structure together with ice ,blocksadhering thereto relative to the tray as a unit and for thereafterengaging the other of said grid sections to apply force between thesections to move the members of said partition away from one another,and the corrugation in one of said members cooperating with thecorrugation in the other of said members to move the ice block adjacentsaid members away from said partition upon movement of the membersrelative to one another.

6. In combination, a tray having a grid structure removably disposedtherein, said grid structure comprising relatively movable sections,said sections of said grid structure each having a relatively longmember extending parallel to one another and being disposed one abovethe other in substantially the same vertical plane and formingcomplementary parts of a llongitudinal partition, said grid structurealso having transverse .members carried by one of sa'id long members ofsaid sections and projecting over the long member of the other of saidgrid sections to divide the interior of the tray into a plurality of iceblock compartments, each long member of said sections of said gridhaving a corrugationtherein providing said longitudinal partition withirregular wall surfaces, means for elevatingsaid sections of said gridstructure together with ice blocks adhering thereto relative to the trayas a unit, means for applying force between said sections after the gridstructure and ice adhering thereto has been elevated relative to thetray to move the grid sections relative to one another, and thecorrugation in one of said long members cooperating with the corrugationin the other of said long members to move the ice blocks adjacent saidlong members lengthwise along the transverse members and away from thewall surface of said longitudinal partition upon moving said gridsections relative to one another.

7. In combination, a tray having a grid structure removably disposedtherein, said grid structure comprising relatively movable sections,said sections of said grid structure each having a rela- I tively longmember extending parallel to one another and being disposed one abovethe other in substantially the same vertical plane and form-- interiorof the tray into a plurality of ice block4 compartments, each longmember-of said sections of said grid having a corrugation thereinproviding said longitudinal partition with irregular wall surfaces, alever carried by one of said grid sections and adapted to engage thetray for elevating said sections of said grid structure together withice blocks adhering thereto relative to the tray as a unit, and saidlever being constructed and arranged to apply force between saidsections after the grid structure and ice adhering thereto has beenelevated relative to the tray to move the grid sectionsrelative to oneanother, the corrugation in one of said long members cooperating withthe corrugation in the other of said long members to partition uponmoving said grid sections relative to one another. V l,

8. In combination, a tray having a grid structure removably disposedtherein, said grid structure comprising relatively movable sections,said sections of said grid structure each having a relatively longmember extending parallel to one y another and being disposed one abovethe other in substantially the same vertical plane and vating saidsections of the grid structure together with ice blocks adhering theretorelative to the tray as' a unit and for thereafter engaging the other ofsaid grid sections to apply force between the sections to move thesections relative to one another, and the corrugation in one of saidlong members cooperating with the corrugation in the other. of said longmembers to move the ice blocks adjacent said long members lengthwisealong the transverse members and away from the wall surface ofsaidlongitudinal partition upon moving said grid sections relative toone another.

9. A grid for ice trays comprising a plurality 'of sections, saidsections of said grideach having a portion extending parallel to oneanother and being disposed one above the other in substantially thesamevertical plane andforming complementary parts of `a dividing member,each portion of said sections of said grid having an obstruction thereonproviding said dividing member with an irregular wall surface, saidsections of said grid being relatively movable, and the obstruction onone of said portions of said sections cooperating with the obstructionon the other portion of said sections upon moving said grid sectionsrelative to one another to apply force to ice adjacent said wall surfacefor` moving the ice away from said dividing member.

10. A grid for ice trays comprising a plurality of sections,said-sections of said grid eachhaving a portion extending parallel toone another and being disposed one above the other in substantially thesame vertical plane and forming complementary parts of a dividingmember, each portion of said sections of said grid being provided withan irregular wall surface, said vsections of said grid being relativelymovable, and

the irregular wall surface of one of said `portions of said sectionscooperating with theirregular wall surface of the other portion of saidsections to move ice away from the wall surface of said dividing memberupon moving said grid sections relative to one another. y

1l. A freezing device comprising in combination, a tray, a grid disposed`within said tray, said grid comprising a plurality of sections,'saidsections of said grid each including an upright portion arranged invalignment along the longitudinal axis of the tray and forming asectional partition removable from said tray, one of said sections `ofsaid removable sectional partition also having a second upright portioncarried thereby and extending laterally from said partition on eitherside thereof to provide another partition removable with said one gridsection from the tray, said second upright portion of said one gridsection cooperating with said first upright portion thereof and with thetray to provide a plurality of ice contacting walls of ice blockcompartments, said one section of said plurality of grid sections beingarrangedto receive a lifting force for moving same relative to anothersection l, thereof,` and ,said one section having a partpthereofarrangedto provide an obstruction to,- relative straightrline movementthereof between ice blocks bonded to said grid to thereby resolve thefirst mentionedforce into',

components some of. which tendsv to break the bond between the iceblocks and said partitions.

l2. -A freezing device comprising'` inrlcombination, a tray, a griddisposedwith-infsaid tray` and removable, therefrom, said gridvcomprising a plurality of sections each movable relative to one another,eachsection ,ofv said gridincluding an upright portion, each of `said-upright portions being arranged in alignmentwith `one another along alongitudinal axis of the tray to form collectively ay longitudinallyextending partition, one of said sections including a second uprightportion carried bythe rst mentionedfupright portion and removabletherewith from the tray, said second upright portion extending laterallyon both sides of said first mentioned portion to form, in cooperationwith the longitudinally extending partition, a plurality of icecontacting walls of ice block compartments, said last named one sectionbeing provided with means adapted to receive a force for moving saidsection relative to another section, and 4each section including anobstruction to relative straight line movement thereof between iceblocks and the ice contacting walls of the ice block compartmentswhereby, upon application of force to said means, the bond between iceblocks and the ice contacting walls of the ice block compartments isbroken.

DONALD H. REEVES.

